I received a bento box (very much like this, but in a different color) for a gift not long ago, and I've fallen in love with the pure techyness of it all. While many in my office building bring their lunch housed in your average plastic grocery bag, I find my lunch stored in one of these bad boys. This blogger from Pittsburgh tells it like it is with her photos of creative lunches stored in her own bento.
I think Oprah said it best: "Don't you deserve better than a soggy sandwich in a brown bag? Having to eat at your desk doesn't mean you can't pamper yourself. Fill these sleek, stackable serving pieces with whatever makes you happy, attach the latch, and have your own private picnic." — Oprah
There are tons of videos out there with statistics on Social Media – and I understand why – with the number of people who seem to still be opposed to this revolution, the creators of these videos have to keep pushing out new content in order to bring a few more to the “dark side.”
How do you teach people about social media and “why” they should pay attention?
Augmented Reality combines the real world (what you see around you) with a virtual environment and allows you to interact with what you see in real-time. Data about what’s around you (houses for sale, restaurants, etc.) are displayed as an additional layer and you can interact with the information. Check out this example via Layar, an augmented reality browser for mobile devices.
These interactive, 3D maps that display information based on your location have a variety of uses as they continue to evolve and expand:
Advertising: Interact with products in 3D based on tags on the product itself (and your computer/phone’s camera reading the tags)
Sightseeing/Tourism: Adds an extra element to a “walking tour” if you can interact with monuments and areas without having to touch those public informational signs (use the antibacterial spray ah!)
Medical/Mechanical Fields: Complex tasks such as assembly, maintenance, and surgery can be simplified by inserting additional information into the field of view. For example, labels can be displayed on parts of a system to clarify operating instructions for a mechanic who is performing maintenance on the system. (via Wikipedia)
Anyone else have examples of Augmented reality and mashups?
This past Thursday evening, I was giving a presentation on how technology/the web has advanced since the “PC era” and how we got to this age of Twitter, Facebook, Cloud Computing and awesome mobile applications.
During this presentation, a member of the group asked me to explain what a mashup was (because it was on my slide) and thankfully I had a URL (padmapper.com) coupled with a funny story (the developer and I became email pen pals when I asked him to add a new city to the app so my friend could find an apartment) on hand — but it made me realize that to a majority of the population, it’s pretty confusing.
A Mashup combines multiple sources of information and displays it in a single web page or application. The easiest (and sometimes most useful!) example mashes together GoogleMaps and something else.
Plan a wine tour (saves a lot of Googling) with Wines and Times. Find where you live (or where you want to go) and see what’s around so you can start sniffing, swirling, and tasting some vino.
Track your package as it’s moves across the map. BoxOh: Type in your tracking number and watch your package travel from it’s origin to it’s destination (you!). Mashes together FedEx/UPS/USPS data and GoogleMaps.
Find Free Internet in your city with HotSpotr: Mashes together a list of free WiFi hotspots and displays over GoogleMaps.
Techyness turns 24, and celebrates it with a cross-country move.
I must have some sense of twisted sense of congratulatory celebration, as my moving date happens to fall on the same day as my 24th birthday.
Hopefully this move won’t include similar stories from my last move — movers who asked me if I wanted to “party” later or go hit up the bar across the street — #professionalismfail.
If you’d like to follow my move and the crazy stories that happen, you can see them come through on Twitter with the hashtag #alanasmove2010.
Which brings me to my next point – when you’re moving, and people come and take away all your stuff, what are you left with?
It’s you, your gadgets, and a suitcase – usually hanging out in a corner, like me.
We tend to trust people with many items that we own, but refuse to hand over the gadgetry. I know I’m one of those crazies going through security with two laptops.
Many of us have spent some time gathering patches. And selling cookies. And racing derby cars.
So why wouldn’t we (after our days as boys and girl scouts) try to gather another set of patches?
A few nerds over at NerdMeritBadges.com must have watched “Troop Beverly Hills” a few extra times in order to come to the following conclusion: Let’s make some patches to showcase your nerd-dom. Take for example “ Family Tech Support,” we’ve all been there. Basically, you buy patches as you “earn” them. But this time, they’re real. As in not digital. ($5.99 per patch)
What’s next? How about buying a velcro sash for your laptop and earning some real-life versions of the Foursquare badges you’ve been showing off online?
We all know those 404 errors all to well, when you're looking for something and it's not there. Sure, it's a little depressing and frustrating — but the whole situation can improve by providing the user – the navigator- something fun to find if they get lost.
It's very "little red riding hood" when she's lost in the woods and leaving bread crumbs to find her way home.
I found a pretty wonderful list of these bread crumbs that will take you home via the Huffington Post.
NYC's (and maybe America's!) favorite texting duo have given the Techyness the opportunity to guest post at the Flirtexting blog — allowing women everywhere to learn more about the gadgets that are truly an extension of ourselves.
"Flirtexting is a strategy. It goes beyond what you’re wearing or what your body language says (which is what is most important in real life flirting), mainly because it involves technology, gadgets, and 3G coverage."
So, these crazy sneaks, developed by Ricardo Nascimento and Tiago Martins, use the Twitter platform to ACTUALLY tweet every breath/step you take (tthanks sting)
Are they being serious?
Basically, it’s making fun of us for posting “every step we take” on twitter, foursquare, and the various other places we share details of our lives. (yes, I’m guilty too…)
How does it work?
A sensor embedded under the sole detects when the wearer is walking. Then, the info is sent via bluetooth to a mobile phone that makes the postings on Twitter.
When the sensor detects a certain amount of pressure, the word “step” is posted. For the other moments the “.” symbol is posted. Following these postings one can know if the wearer is walking or not and also predict his speed.
What’s next?
Look for continued integration of technology and our physical “stuff” (clothes, shoes, etc.) Most of what we buy now is designed to “integrate” with our devices (think iPhone, blackberry pockets), but as component costs continue to decrease, people are going to have more fun experimenting…
Miss Techyness is a 20-something, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pearl-wearing, IT-careergirl, blackberry-using, Mac-loving, former homecoming queen and Syracuse University Alum. This is her personal blog.
The opinions expressed on this blog and on the millennious podcast are Alana's personal opinions and do not represent that of her employer, groups, or anything else past, present, or future.
